866 : International Day of Museums 2016 in the TRNC 16-24 May - here: William Dreghorn in Bellapais 5/21/2016

Here: Exhibition and Book
launch William Dreghorn in Bellapais Crypt

By Heidi Trautmann

An island wide programme was
dedicated to this special day celebrated worldwide to bring to the awareness
the museums on the island and especially the work done. See the programme which
is in Turkish but I explain it here shortly in English:

16-17 May: Zehra Şonya,
sculptress, led workshops and lectures for children at the Girne Castle.

18 May: In various museums
in Lefke, Nicosia and Güzelyurt, guided tours and lectures.

18 May: Exhibition and book
launch ‘William Dreghorn’ in Bellapais Crypt followed by talks on the situation
of museums in Turkey and in the TRNC.

The exhibition which was organized
by Münevver Tantura, Museum Officer of Kyrenia Castle, was officially opened by
Prof. Dr. Müge Şevketoğlu who presented at the same time the new publication of
the booklet ‘Bellapais Abbey’ which first appeared in 1984 and is now reprinted
as second edition under the copy right of the Department of Antiquities and
Museums in the TRNC. Dr. Müge Şevketoğlu, Director of the Centre for
Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Conservation at Cyprus International
University, who has known William Dreghorn personally since her childhood is
responsible for the reprint.

The original manuscripts are
kept at the Kyrenia Castle archives. Dreghorn’s drawings and water colours are
on details of the buildings and therefore of great interest not only for the
Antiquity Department. The exhibition on the day of presentation contained large
prints of the sketches and drawings contained in the booklet on Bellapais Abbey.

The series of talks was
opened by the Director of the Antiquity and Museums Department, Fuat Azimli, and
the Minister of the Tourism and Environment Ministry Fikri Ataoğlu. Very
interesting talks followed on museums in Turkey and the situation of its restoration,
conservation and educational programmes accompanied by slide shows: a general
overview on all the museums available in Turkey and two presentations by its
directors of the Aksaray and Aydin museums. The directors had come for the
occasion from Turkey. I was duly impressed, although I have visited many
museums in Turkey myself during our travels along its coasts for many years on
our sailing boat ‘Early Bird’ as liveaboards and travels across country. The
talks were concluded by Dr. Müge Şevketoğlu on the island’s situation which –
from the archaeology point of view - is loaded with problems as many of us
might have heard.

The guests of this special
evening were invited to a cocktail in the beautiful cloister’s inner yard with
the nearly full moon out above.